Watch a video clip of this European Policy Summit.

Reverberations from the Irish "no" did not dampen enthusiasm for recent positive developments in the Balkans region. This was one of the outcomes of Friends of Europe’s ninth annual Balkans summit, “A Balkans Balance Sheet”, held in Brussels on 24 June. The summit brought together over 300 politicians, policymakers and pundits, as well as representatives from international organisations, civil society and the private sector. Participants discussed the health of the EU’s Balkan enlargement strategy and whether the EU is exerting a calming influence on Balkan politics.

During the afternoon an economic roundtable debated the strength of the entrepreneurial culture in the region and the pace of economic development. The roundtable pooled the expertise of over 40 experts from across the EU and the Balkans region, including Martin Bartenstein, Austria’s Economy Minister, Milo Djukanovic, Montenegro’s Prime Minister, and Hido Biscevic, Secretary General of the Sarajevo-based Regional Cooperation Council.

Over the last six months the region has seen some recent positive developments, including the launch of the Regional Cooperation Council in February 2008 and the signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Bosnia-Herzegovina on 16 June, which paved the way for fully-fledged EU membership for the country. Yet bilateral and multilateral tensions across the region remain – particularly over an independent Kosovo – but several participants pointed to the positive development of Serbia’s new government, which they expect to be more pro-EU.

Despite rumblings from the incoming EU French Presidency that in the wake of the Irish vote “difficulty will begin when the 28th member state knocks at the door”, representatives from both international and EU institutions remained positive about the region’s eventual integration into the regional bloc. An upbeat EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn assured countries of the Western Balkans that while the EU is considering how to pursue institutional reform, the European Commission is “working in parallel on the accession process” and that the enlargement process remains “on track”. [Read the full text of Commissioner Rehn's speech here.]

For Antonio Milososki, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, “the outcome of the recent Irish referendum is not bad news from Brussels, but for Brussels. When the time comes for the countries of the Western Balkans, I am confident that Brussels will find a way to resolve the crisis.”

References to the possibility of decoupling of institutional reform and enlargement – at least for the next entrant – are particularly important for Croatia, expected to access the EU door by 2009. An optimistic Vladimir Drobnjak, Chief Negotiator for the accession of Croatia to the EU, told participants that “the time for Croatia as the EU’s 28th member state is coming”.

This ninth conference on the Balkans and South-East Europe was organised by Friends of Europe, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the Si&Si Group, the Constantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy, Gallup Europe, and the OECD Investment Compact for South East Europe, with the support of the Coca-Cola Company and Delta Holding.

Speakers included:

• Martin Bartenstein, Austria’s Minister for Economic Affairs and Labour
• Sali Berisha, Prime Minister of Albania
• Aart de Geus, Deputy Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
• Vladimir Drobnjak, Chief Negotiator for the accession of Croatia to the EU
• Mladen Ivanić, Co-chair of the House of Peoples and Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Jonas Jonsson, Special Adviser to the EU Special Representative in Kosovo
• Jean-Pierre Jouyet, French State Secretary for European Affairs
• Antonio Milošoski, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
• Doris Pack MEP, Chairwoman of the European Parliament Delegation for relations with the countries of south-east Europe
• Olli Rehn, EU Commissioner for Enlargement
• Joachim Rücker, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General and Head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)
• Christian Schwarz-Schilling, Former EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Hashim Thaçi, Prime Minister of Kosovo (under UNSRC 1244)

Roundtable discussants included:

• Hido Biščević, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council
• Vojin Đorđević, President of the Si&Si Group, Serbia
• Milo Đukanović, Prime Minister of Montenegro
• Milka Forcan, Vice-President of Delta Holding
• Robert Manchin, Chairman and Managing Director of Gallup Europe and Trustee of Friends of Europe
• Ljerka Maric, Director for Economic Planning at the Council of Ministers and former Minister for Finance, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Anthony O'Sullivan, Head of Programme, Investment Compact for South East Europe, OECD
• Jan Truszczyński, European Commission Deputy Director General for Enlargement

Download the full list of discussants.